Cyclone Yasi: A Running Commentary UPDATED with photos

A running commentary of Cyclone Yasi... my Facebook updates in chronological order...

Wednesday 2nd Feb

10am "gobsmacked by the length of this thing... fully serious, it's pretty much the length of mainland Australia from tip to tip. Top tip is way up past PNG, bottom tip extends well into NSW"

10:30am "so, the moron next door has still got construction materials all over his drive way... almost hope he loses them, as long as they don't end up in someone's window, teach him a lesson."

(11am: Visited my parents to pick up some big 20L plastic water containers. We'd had a little breeze and minimal rain before getting there, but almost as soon as we arrived a huge gale blew up for about ten minutes, soaking anything beside an open window. Cue mad rush to close all windows. A few little branches blown out of trees, but nothing special, and it died down almost as quickly as it had popped up.)

12:30pm "just filled the shower recess tub with water... felt like putting in bubble bath and jumping in :P"

3:40pm (A little breezy and rainy outside, not significant) "lights! stop flickering! it's just a bit of wind and rain... it's as if the power knows what's coming and is just gonna give up now"

4:30pm "gonna go finish dishes so if we do lose water we don't have to waste what water we do have on washing dishes :P Hope to be back online before we lose power."

(4:30pm, windy with the occasional big gust)

5:50pm "ice-cream time. Clearly, if the power's gonna go out, the ice-cream will be the first to go."

6:50pm "still just big gusts of wind... a few palm fronds on the ground but that's it."

8:55pm "Michelle Williams' status: "Douglas has lost power. Things went boom." o.O"

9pm (in response to a friend saying the wind was "getting pretty epic now") "it sure is. Even we're really feeling it now and judging from what other people have been going through tonight, we've been pretty sheltered. Hope you guys are ok up there (on Castle Hill)"

(Was trying to hold the camera as still as possible... tripod broken :(. )

9:20pm (Significantly strong wind now, still relatively low levels of rain) "We just lost power. Our only net access now is andre's phone so we wont be using it too much to conserve battery power. Keep safe guys! Will be back on later"

Candle-lit House. Note the glass backdoors that shook and creaked and banged (the screen doors behind them don't latch) all night.

11:50pm (Essentially in the middle of the storm - not the core of the cyclone itself, but the middle of what Townsville would be getting. Strongest winds I have ever witnessed and raining heavily.) "Was beginning to doze off despite the almighty wind when I heard an enormous clatter. Someone's gutter (ours? Neighbour's?) is on our back patio and one of our palm trees has landed on the hills hoist. Thank God it wasnt the house. All ok though."


Thursday 3rd Feb

1:30am (Winds even stronger, and changed direction, coming from the east rather than the south. The entire back glass door is shaking violently in the wind and the door frames are creaking in the wall. Lots of rain - not just horizontal, but swirling in all directions.) "Tried sleeping for the past hour, not happening. BOM reckons we are out of the 'destructive winds' zone. Not buying it at all. Saw two huge green flashes from willows direction. Power lines?? Too far to tell. Wrong colour for lightning."

Comment on a previous status: "I was pretty confident about trees because we virtually *only* have palms. Have no idea how the ones out the front are, it's 1:30am and raining too much to really see."

Comment on a friend's status: "I have big glass back doors which keep creaking with every big gust of wind - freaking me out. House is vibrating!"

7:20am (Had only successfully slept since about 4am when the wind had stopped shaking the doors quite so violently). "All ok here. Gusty wind still makes us feel like we're in the 'gale force winds' area but we're out of it now." (Wind had changed direction again - now coming from the north. Slept for another 3 hours or so afterwards.)

Note change in wind direction from last night.

Automatic gate blown off its fence. (Neighbour across the road)

11:50am (In response to a friend's comment) "We're good thanks. Just having brekky now (as I really only slept from 4 - 11 and even that was patchy) and it's stinking hot due to no power & not wanting to open too many windows & doors coz it's still windy. Want to go for a drive but not sure if it's too dangerous yet. Back & front yards a mess but fortunately we have the landlords around who will prob clear it up."

 About 7am - still raining enough that the yard is still flooded.

At about 11am. Rain stopped, yard has drained. One palm tree on the hills hoist clothesline, other one had 30cm of roots keeping it from landing on our roof.

3pm "For those that have not heard, water is to be used for drinking only - water plant damaged so water may run out."

3:05pm "Andre & the landlord Trevor pulled down the palm tree about to fall on our roof. Whew."

Thursday night we went round to my parents' place - had dessert with them, checked out the damage in their yard and took advantage of the generator they have running (internet, light, etc). On the way home we drove back via Ross River Rd - drove through Douglas, Cranbrook, Kirwan, Willows - the only light we saw the whole way was a little strip in front of the Kirwan Exchange and outside Willows Shopping Centre. Have never seen such a big blackout in Townsville.

 The reason my parents' part of Douglas still doesn't have power.

 The bikeway  beside my parents' place - those trees are from their yard.

 All that green matter was from my parents' backyard.

You usually can't see much sky at all through those trees to the left of the cubby house.

Tree in my parents' backyard. Previously, it would have filled this entire photo and then some. Its branches are in that photo two pics above (among other greenery). Sorry for the appalling quality. Didn't realise how bad it was until I took it off my camera this afternoon.

The road past Ignatius Park College was lined with 2m high piles of branches, trees, etc. Every single shopping centre we saw had its carpark shade sails destroyed. Gaping holes in bitumen carparks where big trees have fallen over and pulled up their roots and bitumen. 

The water treatment plant was damaged and had no power, so we were told to use water sparingly as there was only a day's supply left. Fortunately Andre and I had stored about 200L of water and were able to use that. Today we have been told that the water treatment plant is back up and running, but we've still been told to use water sparingly until the reservoirs can be refilled. 

It will take days to restore all power and clean up the city. Every road you drive down, trees have snapped in half, been pulled up at their roots, fences have been flattened, awnings are missing, shade sails are torn up. The occasional window is smashed and, although I've not seen any yet, I've heard reports of people, here in Townsville, who have lost their roofs.